What is the history of coffee? According to the National Coffee Association of U.S.A. Inc., it all begins with a legend.

As the story goes, a goatherder in Ethiopia named Kaldi discovered the magical brew after noticing that his goats became “so spirited they did not want to sleep at night” after eating from a particular plant. Kaldi told the local monastery of his findings, and soon word began to spread East towards the Arabian peninsula, and then, across the globe.

I have no way of verifying if this story is true, but it sure has a nice ring to it.

Coffee has come a long way since caffeinated goats. You can find it on every street corner, in every grocery store. There are specialty shops, mail-order catalogs, clubs, aficionados.

But there’s some idyllic about the image of a lone goat herder in a field of magic beans, isn’t there?

So next time you pour yourself some morning Joe, take a moment to imagine that time, long ago.